Slag processing plant



April 15,` 1969 F. FORSCHEPIEPE 3,438,762

` SLAG PROCESSING PLANT Filed March 2, 1965 Sheet AF/G. l'v

i y f@ ATTORNEY April 15, 1969 F. FoRscl-IEPIEPE SLAG PROCESSNG PLANT Filed March 2, 1965 ATTORNEY 3,438,762 SLAG PROCESSING PLANT Fritz Forschepiepe, Asselner Hellweg 106, Dortmund-Asseln, Germany Filed Mar. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 436,524 Int. Cl. C0311 37/10 U.S. Cl. 65-141 12 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE In a slag processing plant, in which a plurality of open casting beds arranged to receive a supply of molten slag which, after hardening, is broken up in the bed to form a mass of particulated material, are each provided with a bunker extending downwardly from the respective bed s0 that the particulated material may be pushed from the bed thereinto, and in which transporting means located in channel means extending at least in part below the bed and below and between the bunkers serve to transport the particulated material from the bunkers to a loading station.

The present invention relates to improvements in slag processing plants, and more particularly to a plant which includes one or more groups of casting beds and is provided with means for receiving and transporting slag from such beds.

In accordance with the presently prevailing practice, slag is dumped or poured into casting beds while still in liquid state. After cooling, the solidified slag layer is invariably broken up by excavators or similar equipment, and the thus obtained particulate material is loaded on vehicles or is fed into transporting systems. Such treatment of slag is very expensive because the excavators and loading machines are subjected to extensive wear and tear. Also, the carriage of an excavator is not suitable for long rides and the maneuverability of excavators is rather limited. Furthermore, the utility of excavators, front end loaders and other presently used loading equipment is limited as regards the working height.

Accordingly, it is an important object of my invention to provide an improved slag processing plant wherein the breaking, transporting, loading and other treatment of slag is simplified and made more economical.

Another object of the invention is to provide a slag processing plant wherein the system which receives and transports comminuted slag from casting beds is constructed and arranged in such a way that its component parts cannot interfere with the use of sidings, carriage roads and other facilities which form part of or are associated with the slag processing plant.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slag processing plant wherein all of a group of casting beds are interconnected by a novel system of channels through which comminutedslag may be delivered to one or more processing and receiving stations.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a slag processing plant wherein `a single piece of heavyduty equipment normally sufiices to elfect initial comminution of solidified slag, to facilitate cooling of brokenup particulate material, and to evacuate such material from all of the casting beds.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a system of channels and conveyors which allow for transfer of comminuted slag from two or more casting beds, to one or more processing stations along the shortest possible path and by simultaneous automatic cooling of conveyed material.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a slag processing plant wherein comminuted material is conveyed from two or more casting beds and on to one or United States Patent O 3,438,762 Patented Apr. 15, 1969 more receiving stations and wherein such material is transported in a substantially continuous manner and at a rate which is high enough to allow for rapid evacuation of casting beds.

Briey stated, one feature of my invention resides in the provision of a slag processing plant which includes a plurality of elongated and preferably parallel casting beds provided in the workshop lloor of the plant and each arranged to receive a supply of liquid slag which, after hardening and subsequent breaking, forms a mass of comminuted particulate material which should be delivered to a loading station or to another receiving station, at least one substantially funnel-shaped bunker provided in each casting bed and including a bottom portion provided with an outlet through which the particulate material may be evacuated from the respective casting bed, channel means extending at least in part to a level below the casting beds and connecting the outlets of the bunkers with the receiving station, and conveyor means provided in the channel ymeans for transporting particulate material from the bunkers to the receiving station.

The channel means may comprise sections which form open ditches and sections which form underground tunnels. Such tunnels may be provided beneath railroad sidings, carriage roads or other installations at the workshop floor level which would have to extend over bridges were the adjacent sections of the channel .means formed as open ditches.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved slag processing plant itself, however, both as to its construction .and the mode of operating the same, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a slag processing plant with a group of three casting beds;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical section substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line A-A of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse section through a channel as seen in the direction of arrows from the line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line C-C of FIG. l; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a modied slag processing plant with two groups of casting beds.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a slag process ing plant including a single group of three elongated parallel casting beds 1, 2, 3. These casting beds are located at a level below the workshop floor F, see FIG. 2, and each thereof is provided with a plurality of funnel shaped bunkers 4 which are spaced from each other in the direction of elongation of the respective casting beds. In the illustrated embodiment, each bunker 4 of the casting bed 1 is in transverse alignment with a bunker of the casting bed 2 and 3 so that such bunkers form two parallel rows which are normal to the casting beds. The bottom portion of each bunker 4 is provided with an outlet through which comminuted slag may be evacuated from the respective casting bed.

The two rows of bunkers respectively communicate with two channels including tunnels 5, 6 provided at a level below the casting beds 1-3 and communicating with the outlets of the corresponding bunkers 4. The tunnels 5, 16 respectively communicate with tunnels 7, 8 which discharge at a receiving station here shown as a loading station 9. The tunnels 5, 6 are horizontal and extend in a direction which is normal to the casting beds 1-3. The

tunnels 7, 8 are disposed in planes which are parallel to the casting beds 1*3 but are inclined upwardly so that the loading station 9 may be provided at or close to the level of the workshop floor F. All of these tunnels accommodate belt conveyors 10 which feed particulate material on to the loading station 9. The distribution of tunnels -8 is such that the bunkers 4 are connected to each other by the shortest route and that the delivery of slag from the bunkers 4 to the loading station 9 also takes place substantially by the shortest path possible.

The tunnels 5-8 may be lined by prefabricated constructional equipment, for example, by concrete tubes such as the tubes Sa, 7a shown in FIGS. 2-4. The tubes are placed end-to-end and are sealingly secured to each other. The diameters of the tubes are selected in such a way that the operators may walk through the tunnels and that the conveyors 10 may be installed and serviced without difliculty. For local or central draining of subsoil water, the plant may be equipped with one or more pumps 10a. Fans 10b are installed to insure satisfactory ventilation of the tunnels.

Liquid slag 11 is poured into the casting beds 1-3 in a manner not forming part of my invention. After cooling, the thus obtained layers of solidified slag are broken up by the track of a caterpillar tractor with rear scarier and bulldozer blade (not shown in the drawings). The resulting particulate material is fed into the bunkers 4 and is advanced by conveyors 10 to reach the loading station 9. Such feeding of particulate material into the bunkers 4 is effected by the bulldozer blade of the tractor. A single tractor may be used to evacuate particulate material from each of the beds 1, 2, 3 in a desired sequence, depending on the quantity of liquid slag discharged into the beds. The arrows 1a-3a shown in FIG. 1 indicate one method of feeding comminuted slag into the bunkers 4 by the shortest route possible so that each bunker will receive about one-half of the material contained in the respective casting bed.

It will be noted that a single piece of heavy-duty equipment will suflice to crush the slag and to clear out the casting beds 1-3 by feeding particulate material into the bunkers 4. Thus, excavators and other loading equipment may be dispensed with. The teeth of the caterpillar tractor cut cracks in the layers 11 so that the interior of each layer may be rapidly cooled by exchanging heat with atmospheric air. Consequently, the particles entering the bunkers 4 are suciently cooled to prevent damage to the belts of the conveyors 10.

The numerals 12 in FIG. 2 indicate rocking troughs which transfer comminuted material from the outlets of bunkers 4 on to the corresponding conveyors 10. The comminuted material reaching the loading station 9 is ready to be delivered to the next processing station, not shown. From the pouring of liquid slag into the casting beds 1-3 and on to the delivery of comminuted material through the discharge ends of tunnels 7, 8 at the loading station 9, a continuous way of transporting slag has thus been provided with a rhythmic sequence of operations and in a most economical way. In addition, the tunnels 5-8 provide a passage for comminuted slag which is independent of rails and roads so that no bridges are required. The tunnels 5, 7 form a rst channel which receives particulate material from one row of bunkers 4, and the tunnels 6, 8 form a second channel which receives such materials from the remaining bunkers.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second slag processing plant with four parallel casting beds 13, 14, 15 and 16. The beds are located one behinc1 the other with three railroad sidings 18, 19, at the discharge side. In accordance with a feature of my invention, the plant of FIG. 5 comprises a system of channels 21 which enables the conveyors to transport bunkered slag and is located mainly between the inner casting beds 14, 15 so that the beds are divided in two groups 13-14 and 1516 each including an inner and an outer casting bed. That part of the system 21 which 4 serves to deliver comminuted slag from the bunkers 23 of the casting beds 13-16 to the collecting bunkers 24 in the space between the inner casting beds 1-4, 15 includes transversely extending open ditches 22 cut into track sections 25 which separate the beds 13, 14 and 15, 16 from each other. The ditches 22 communicate with underground tunnels 26 which extend at a level below the railroad sidings 18, 19 and lead to the collecting bunkers 24. Thus, the system of channels 21 includes two open ditches 22 and two tunnels 26. As indicated at 25a, slag is piled up to a level above the casting beds 13-16 to prevent liquid slag from flowing into the ditches of the track sections 25.

The ditches 22 connect the bunkers 23 in each group of casting beds.

By installing a portion of the system 21 in the space between the inner casting beds 14, 15, I insure that the comminuted material is transported via the shortest possible route. Also, the material passing through the ditches 22 is free to exchange heat with atmospheric air so that the tunnels 26 normally require no ventilation whatever. In other words, the plant of F IG. 5 is constructed in such a way :that freshly comminuted material rst passes through an open section yor ditch 22 of the channel means and thereupon through a tunnel-shaped (enclosed) section 26 of the same channel means.

In the plant of FIG. 5, two additional `casting beds 27 are connected with the system 21 via an intermediate deposit 28 for preprocessed slag. The system 21 leads through two magnetic dressing plants 30, a screening plant 31, a preparatory iine breaking plant 32, a jet impact pulverizer 33, and delivers comminuted material to a loading station 29. A side arm 34 of the unit 21 bypasses the fine breaking plant 32. A continuous flow of slag from the casting beds 13-16 and, if so desired, from the casting beds 27 via deposit 28, bunker 35 and breaking plant 36 is thus obtained by the shortest and most economical route which includes all necessary receiving stations. The sidings 17-20 are used to facilitate delivery of liquid slag to the casting beds 1316 and 27.

Open ditches are used whenever possible because such ditches are less expensive and also because the conveyed material may be cooled automatically and without fans by direct contact with atmospheric air.

The magnetic dressing plant 30, e.g. a magnetic conveyor belt, the screening plant 31, the preparatory ne breaking plant 32, and the jet impact pulverizer can be taken from the system of a breaking and glassing plant for blast furnace slag in the book: Fritz Keil, Hochofenschlacke (Blast Furnace Slag), 2nd edition 1963, Stahleisen mbH-Publishing House, Dusseldorf, Germany, pp. 21S-217, FIG. 83a.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a slag processing plant, in combination a plurality of open casting beds arranged to receive a supply of liquid slag, which, after hardening, is adapted to be broken up to form a mass of comminuted partciulated material; at least one bunker extending downwardly from each of said casting 'beds so that the particulated material therein may be pushed into said bunker; channel means extending at least in part below said casting beds and below and between said bunkers; and conveyor means in said channel means for transporting particulated material from said bunkers to a loading station.

2. In a plant as defined in claim 1, wherein said channel means are at least in part in form of tunnels.

3. In a plant as defined in claim 1, wherein said channel means include at least one open ditch located at a level below said casting beds.

4. In a plant as defined in claim 1, wherein said bunkers are substantially funnel-shaped and include a bottom portion having an outlet through which the particulated material may be discharged by gravity onto said conveyor means.

5. In a plant as defined in claim 2, wherein said tunnels include tubular liners of a diameter large enough to permit an operator to walk therethrough and -being formed lby prefabricated tubular elements arranged eridto-end and sealingly connected at the ends to each other.

`6. In a plant as defined in claim 2, and including ventilating means cooperating with said tunnels for ventilating the same.

7. In a plant as defined in claim 1, and including pump means cooperating with said channel means for evacuating eventual accumulation of water therefrom.

8. In a plant as defined in claim 1, wherein said casting beds are elongated and extend spaced from and substantially parallel to each other and wherein said bunkers are arranged in a row along a line transverse to the elongation of said casting beds, said channel means including first channel means extending along said line beneath said bunkers and second channel means communieating at one end with said rst channel means and extending from said one end upwardly inclined t0 a loading station above ground.

9. In a plant as defined in claim 8, wherein said casting beds are arranged in two groups and including at least one collecting bunker arranged along said line intermediate said two groups of casting beds, said first channel means including two branches, one for each group, and each communicating at one end thereof with said collecting bunker, and said second channel means leading from said collecting bunker to the loading station.

10. In a plant as defined in claim 9, and including at least one processing station `between said collecting bunker and the loading station.

11. In a plant as defined in claim 10, wherein said at least one processing station comprises a magnetic dressing unit.

12. In a plant as `defined in claim 11, and including a screening unit, a fine breaking unit and a pulverizing unit arranged in the order enumerated between said magnetic dressing unit and the loading station.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,888,394 1l/1932 Schol 65-141 2,031,352 2/1936y Wilson 65-19 XR 2,210,999 8/ 1940 Bartholomew 65-19 2,661,575 12/1953 Kennedy 65-141 3,171,736 3/1965 Debenham 65-19 XR 3,316,075 4/1967 Grady 65-141 XR DONALL H. sYLvEsTER, Primary Examiner. FRANK W. MIGA, Asssz'szant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR. 65--20, 19 

